Students in MCPS ranked higher than Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, Finland and Germany in the Programme for International Student Assessment. The PISA test is a worldwide test in math, reading, and science that is designed to determine how prepared students are to compete and collaborate in a global economy. Seventy two countries took part in the 2015 assessment that MCPS students are compared to. MCPS scored higher than all other countries, including the United States average, in all areas.

“I had the opportunity to visit Finland and tour schools that were the best in the world,” said Superintendent Mark Miear. “I knew then our schools would be competitive because I saw similar practices and similar levels of learning. The results from this test reaffirm our success.”

The mean performance for MCPS in reading was 596 points, followed by Singapore at 535. The mean performance for MCPS in math was 650 points, followed by Singapore at 564. The mean performance for MCPS in science was 608, followed by Singapore at 556.

The administration of the assessment was piloted at a single high school in Montgomery County last year, but will expand to a second high school with this year’s testing.